Infernal Father of Mine

by John Corwin

  "Now or never, son," Dad said.

  Grinning, I said, "As a matter of fact, I think so." I held a hand to the rune. It sprang from the socket, rotating beneath my fingers, tickling each one with static. I willed the arch to activate. The silver ring in the floor flashed bright. Aether filled the air around us, and sheets of black and white energy flashed across the center of the arch. I sensed the arch questing for an Alabaster Arch in the real world, since that was the only way for it to open a portal to another realm. It connected, but I sensed dark, deep cold all around the unseen destination.

  For all I knew, the sensation was perfectly normal. On the other hand, I didn't want to die the instant the portal opened, so I willed the connection to shift to another Alabaster Arch.

  "What are you doing?" Serena shouted over the hum of the arch. "I promised Daelissa she would be the first one to open the arch to Seraphina!"

  "Why does she get first dibs?" I said, stalling as I felt the arch continue to search for a suitable destination. Impressions of a dark room filled my mind. I heard Serena shouting commands.

  "Sentinels," Dad said. "They're coming into the circle."

  We couldn't wait any longer. I sent the command to the arch. Open! A wave of white static crossed the arch. An image flickered and stabilized. It looked like an arch control room. I didn't see any cherubs waiting and felt a flood of relief. I looked at the rune. I can't take it without causing a backlash. I didn't like leaving it in the arch, but unless Serena could attune it, she couldn't remove it either. For now, the rune was linked to Eden, and the Shadow Nexus couldn't be used to connect to other realms.

  "Go," I said, risking a look over my shoulder. A dozen sentinels raced across the space between us.

  Dad ran through. I followed. The sentinels were almost upon us. I turned to close the portal. A sentinel ran through and puffed into vapor the instant it crossed into the real world. It was followed by another and another, but their dreamcasted forms couldn't survive outside the Gloom.

  "Na-na na-na boo-boo," I stuck out my tongue at Serena. "Stick your head in doo-doo!"

  The door behind her burst open, and a horde of Nazdal loped into the room, their crooked gait deceptively fast. Their voices gurgled with excitement, their eyes glowed red with hunger.

  "Goodbye, creepazoids," I said, and willed the portal closed.

  The gateway vanished. We had escaped.

  Chapter 28

  "Holy Mary," I shouted. My legs were shaking, and sweat dripped down my face.

  "I need a drink," Dad said.

  We looked at each other and burst into crazed laughter. When the laughter died down, I took stock of our location. It was definitely an arch control room with an Alabaster Arch. Judging from the size of the structure, it was not the Grand Nexus.

  "I have no clue where we are," I said.

  "I don't care." Dad made a fist and bared his teeth. "I feel strong again. I guess that means we're really back in Eden."

  "Well, we're certainly not in the Gloom."

  "Can Serena use the arch to send Nazdal after us?" Dad asked.

  I'd been so busy celebrating our escape, I hadn't given it much thought. "Yikes. We better go now, just in case."

  "What about these other arches here?" He waved a hand at the rows of black arches in the control room. "Can we use one to get out of here?"

  I glanced at the rows of other arches. "Possibly, but I don't want to chance using a damaged one and end up dead." I jogged toward the front of the room and out the door. "All we need is a phone so I can call Elyssa. She'll be able to open a portal using the omniarch in the mansion."

  We ran up a long tunnel with a ramp. It only took me a few seconds to realize where we were. "We're in Australia at the Three Sisters control room," I said. "I was just here not long ago."

  "What brought you here?"

  I told him the short version of how I'd rescued Mom from Maulin Kassus and his band of battle mages as we ran up the tunnel.

  "I don't know how you do it, Justin." Dad shook his head. "All this time you've been saving the world, and I thought I was doing my duty by keeping the Houses of Daemos glued together by any means necessary."

  "I understand why you're marrying Kassallandra, Dad." My stomach knotted. "I don't like it, but I understand. If she goes to the Seraphim, there's no way we'll win. It'll be tough even with her support."

  "Especially if Daelissa uses the Nazdal," Dad said.

  We reached the top of the ramp and pushed through a thicket of vines. A jungle waited outside. I groaned, because it wasn't a short walk back to civilization. Elyssa and I had chased Kassus on a flying carpet for several miles before reaching the Three Sisters, a popular tourist attraction in these parts.

  "Let me get my bearings," I said, and scrambled up the trunk of the tallest tree in the vicinity. From the top, I looked across the green canopy and spotted the trio of towering cliffs known as the Three Sisters. It was nearly impossible to use the sun for direction because once I was back on the ground, the trees would shield much of the light. It was good having my supernatural powers back, though. They made climbing the tree a cinch.

  I slid back down to the bottom, and brushed the bark off my clothes. "We need to go that way," I said, and pointed.

  Dad was looking back toward the concealed tunnel mouth leading back down to the arch. "While you were up in the tree, I could have sworn I heard sounds coming from the arch cavern."

  "Serena might have reopened the gateway," I said.

  Dad looked around. "Let's get out of here."

  I hadn't taken more than a couple of steps when something leapt from behind the vines covering the tunnel. The sound of bubbling phlegm quickly told me it was a Nazdal. Its skin blurred from the color of the tree to a normal pink hue just as it slammed Dad in the chest. I flashed toward him, and kicked the creature hard. It flew off and smacked into a tree. Several more of the creatures jetted from the tunnel after us.

  "Run!" I shouted.

  Before I could move, red vapor shot the mouth of one of the creatures. I held my breath, but it didn't matter. The vapor dragged on my limbs, weighed them down like lead, and it was all I could do to move. Dad seemed to be in similar shape.

  "No more Mr. Nice Guy!" Dad roared, and morphed into demonic form. His muscles exploded to humongous size. His clothes ripped and tore, and horns as thick as my arms grew from his forehead. He caught the first Nazdal leaping at him, and crushed the creature with one hand. His giant foot lashed out at the next, and sent it ricocheting off the trunks of several trees before coming to rest in a lifeless heap.

  It occurred to me I had more than my demonic origins to rely upon now, and instead of manifesting, drew upon my Seraphim side. I hurled a ball of sizzling white at a Nazdal, catching the thing in mid-air. The creature's gurgling scream cut off as searing flames consumed it. Another Nazdal lunged toward me. Its claws nearly reached my throat. I caught it by the neck at the last second and summoned more destructive Brilliance.

  The Nazdal howled, its crooked body flailing as the heat cauterized its throat shut. I flung the body away. The disfigured creatures prowled around us, eyes glowing brighter than ever. They seemed to be growing in size, their muscles swelling with every death of a comrade.

  "Are you stronger than the bright ones?" said Maloreck as he crawled from the shadows.

  "I am," I said. "How many of you do we have to kill to prove it?"

  "We take the life of the fallen," Maloreck said, his bones cracking as his body stretched and grew. "The blood pact is an honor with any who fall before us. To waste the life is wrong."

  "Not good," Dad said, his voice deep and guttural in demon form.

  I did a quick headcount and estimated about twenty more Nazdal. Those remaining had all grown, though not as much as Maloreck. If they'd been absorbing life force from their dead, it meant each survivor would be that much stronger.

  "What happens if you kill one of us?" I asked.

  "We will not waste your life,
honored one." Maloreck panted, as if his desire to sample my life force would be the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted.

  "My life force tastes like soot and poo," I said. "You won't like it at all. I think it's a genetic deformity."

  "Soot and poo?" Maloreck asked.

  I saw the other Nazdal closing in from the other sides. My limbs lightened, and I felt the effects of the red vapor wearing off.

  "Let me explain," I said. "It's like—one, two, three, run!" I said the last part really fast, but Dad caught on without hesitation.

  We needed a clear path. I summoned dark energy and imagined what I wanted. A shockwave burst from my hands, knocking the Nazdal in our way to all sides. One of them hissed the red vapor, but the cloud narrowly missed us as we streaked past.

  Dad's feet sounded like the pounding of timpani drums. His stride was absolutely monstrous thanks to the extra few feet he'd gained as an infernal creature. I didn't have the time to manifest into demon form, but managed to keep up thanks to the path he cleared through the thick foliage. I glanced back. The Nazdal loped after us. Their stride looked ungainly, but the mere fact they were keeping within sight meant they were faster than they looked. Dad crushed a sapling, and leapt up an incline. I jumped atop a boulder, slipped on the mossy surface, and scrambled back to my feet. Roots and muddy ground made the terrain slick and treacherous. The Nazdal with their claws were having no such issues.

  Then again, neither was Dad with his big demon feet. I knew if I paused to manifest, the Nazdal would be on me. Then again, why couldn't I just use magic to help me out? Channeling Murk, I shot strands of dark energy from my hand. They latched onto trees. I willed the energy to contract, and it shot me forward like a rubber band.

  Before my feet hit the ground, I shot more strands of Murk, swinging myself along much faster than when I'd been on the ground. I caught up with Dad. He gave me a surprised look.

  "You've read too many comic books," he said, breathing heavily.

  "Hey, it works doesn't it?" I yelped as my next swing nearly carried me into a low-hanging branch. "Guess it could use a little more work." I risked a glance back. The Nazdal were nowhere in sight. Either we'd outdistanced them, or the trees and foliage were hiding them. I hoped they'd given up because we were closing in on the cliff wall ahead. We reached the base. I looked up the sheer vertical wall of rock and a wave of vertigo made my knees go weak.

  Dad dug his claws into the rock and climbed. I shot a strand of energy, and slingshotted myself upward. Just as my upward momentum slowed, I shot another strand. Before long, we were halfway up the cliff face.

  I looked down and saw Nazdal climbing the cliff behind us, their claws making them nimble as squirrels.

  "I don't know if I can make it," Dad said. His huge muscles trembled with fatigue. "Something in that red mist drained my endurance."

  I felt my own endurance flagging but wasn't ready to give up. "I'll carry you, but you'll need to shrink to normal size."

  One of the Nazdal closed in and hissed out more red vapor. The fringe touched my father's legs.

  "Go, Justin. You're the important one." His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his body toppled backward.

  "No!" I shouted. I shot a strand of Murk around his waist. His demon form was huge, and with my waning super strength, it was all I could do to hold him up. In one hand I held onto the rope of energy attached to the cliff. In my other hand, I held my father's life.

  The Nazdal lunged for him. I jerked my arm, and swung Dad just out of reach. David's body shrank rapidly. His weight diminished drastically. The Nazdal swiped at him again as his body swung like a pendulum. I jerked up, and Dad just barely sailed over the outstretched claw.

  This wasn't going to work well, not with the speed of our pursuers. Magic was wonderful, but I had to use physics as well. I might be able to muscle Dad up to me, but I'd need all my remaining strength to make it to the top of the cliff. "Please help me science," I prayed. Holding the energy rope anchored to the cliff, I ran sideways along the vertical cliff face as fast as I could. I managed to run until I stood at a forty-five degree angle from where my magical rope anchored me to the cliff. Dad's body swung below me. Using the momentum, I jerked forward the arm supporting him. His body swung perpendicular to mine. As it swung back down, I timed, it, and pushed off the cliff. Our bodies flew back the other way. The Nazdal had changed direction and were coming for us. I extended my feet and booted the first one off the cliff. One of the creatures grabbed the Murk rope connecting me to my father.

  My forward momentum slowed. Dad's body swung up at a sharp angle, and the Nazdal lost its grip on the cliff. I willed the energy strand to vanish, and our attacker plummeted down the face, its gurgling wail fading. The other Nazdal watched it fall, their eyes gleaming. Some of them raced down the cliff face like roaches toward their fallen comrade. I imagined they wanted to absorb the life from it.

  Dad's body reached the apex of its upward trajectory. I shot another strand at him, and snatched him from the grasp of another Nazdal. I didn't have any choice but to burn more energy, so I jerked the aetherial rope upward and caught Dad around the waist. At the same time, I saw Maloreck, bigger than ever, scampering up the cliff wall, his claws digging gouges in the rock.

  My body cried out with pain. My magical muscles were ready to give out. We had so far to go. I felt raw hunger tearing at my stomach. I needed to feed. I considered firing a volley of energy at Maloreck, but knew it would cost me too much. Every ounce of strength left had to go toward getting us up the cliff. I climbed past a chunk of rock jutting from the cliff wall. It shuddered when I put my foot on it. I wondered if I could kick it loose and take out a few Nazdal below.

  I could make a giant magical slingshot and take them out.

  A slightly less suicidal idea ricocheted off the original thought and gave me a much needed dose of hope. Balancing Dad on my aching shoulder, I attached a strand of energy to the boulder, and kicked it. It shifted from its precarious perch. I heard the crumbling of rock and felt the small ledge holding the big rock give way. "Here goes nothing." I willed the strand of energy anchoring me to the cliff wall to become elastic.

  The boulder fell and we were in freefall. I heard a screech as the boulder knocked loose a Nazdal. Its claws grasped at us but fell just short. Air whooshed when we passed other pursuers climbing the cliff. I felt tension in the rope anchoring us to the rock face. The falling Nazdal's gurgles faded as he continued his plunge. The tension in the anchor grew tighter, tighter, and tighter still. We slowed to a crawl as the weight of the boulder carried us at least a hundred feet below our attackers.

  I released the rope connected to the boulder. We flew up like a shot. I felt the anchor go slack as we passed the point where it connected to the cliff. I saw the railing atop the cliff beckoning, and shot another rope of Murk toward it. It connected just beneath the ledge. With all the strength I had left, I jerked hard on the magical rope and gained another twenty feet.

  Still holding Dad in one arm, I jerked hard on the rope with the other, climbing a few inches at a time until we were just below the ledge. I looked down and felt sick with vertigo. We were so far up, the Nazdal looked like insects below us. Holding onto my father, I couldn't reach the railing, so I connected him to the cliff with another rope. Muscles burning with fatigue, I pulled myself over the ledge. Tears formed in my eyes as I fought the pain. I looked below and saw Dad dangling in free air like a spider's next meal. I gripped the cord and pulled him up. I heard murmuring and cries of surprise as I pulled him over the railing.

  I staggered backward. Felt someone catch me.

  "Are you okay?" I heard someone ask with an Australian accent.

  "Where did they come from?" someone else asked.

  I heard someone else cry out in fear. I looked as a Nazdal crested the rise and leapt on a man taking a picture. The man screamed as the disfigured creature dug a claw into his stomach and ripped out his intestines.

  Chapter 29


  Pandemonium erupted. People scrambled to escape as more Nazdal clambered over the railing and set their sights on an all-they-could-eat buffet. A Nazdal leapt on a woman as she tried to video the event on her cell phone. Her scream cut off abruptly as the attacker tore out her throat with jagged teeth. The phone slid across the pavement and stopped near my feet. I was too tired to fight. My muscles were fried. My magic was fizzling. I had only one thing left to do.

  I took a picture of a kiosk, and texted it to a number I'd long ago memorized. The phone rang.

  "Who is this?" asked Elyssa.

  "Baby, I need your help now!"

  "Justin? Oh my god, I've been—"

  "No time. I'm about to die. Take the portal and get me!"

  "I'm not at the mansion. Hold tight, baby, I'll save you." The phone went dead.

  I looked as Nazdal tore into tourists left and right, not differentiating between man, woman, or child. I felt sick. I'd led these creatures here, and I couldn't stop them.

  I have to try.

  I lay Dad on the ground, drew in a breath to steady myself, and channeled aether. A Nazdal pounced toward a screaming child, his short legs pumping in vain to escape. I directed a jagged pulse of Murk. It knocked the predator off course, causing it to smack into a large metal map display.

  Another Nazdal hissed a cloud of red mist toward a group of teenage tourists who were taking as many pictures as possible. One of the girls shrieked as the disgusting spray blew across her face. Everyone it touched dropped to their knees. They tried crawling away, but the poison, or whatever it was, seemed to inhibit muscle movement. The attacker's eyes gleamed. I directed another pulse of energy toward it. It was just enough to send the creature reeling backward as if it had been sucker punched, but that only delayed it.

  My target glared at me. I noticed the other Nazdal focusing on me as the greatest threat.

  "Come get me, you ugly sons of bitches," I growled. I aimed another blast at the closest Nazdal. Instead of blistering heat, a beam of light about as powerful as a flashlight momentarily blinded it. I had plenty of aether to use, but something inside me was weak from the overuse. My knees felt like gelatin. I wobbled. Maybe I could manifest. Maybe I could scream like a girl and run, possibly lead these things away from the other people and Dad.